Fox drops $100,000 to poke fun at The New York TimesNEW YORK -- Fox News Channel gave The New York Times more than $100,000 to poke fun at the newspaper. Fox ran a full-page advertisement in the Times on Thursday, blurbing a recent review in the newspaper that called the "Fox & Friends" morning show "the most powerful TV show in America." Television critic James Poniewozik's review wasn't exactly complimentary, as it traced the show's close relationship with the nation's tweeter-in-chief, Presi...

Marine dog gets a tearful farewellMUSKEGON, Mich. -- Hundreds of people in Michigan came together to say a tear-filled final goodbye to a cancer-stricken dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines. Cena the 10-year-old black Lab received a hero's farewell Wednesday before being euthanized at the USS LST 393, a museum ship in Muskegon, and carried off in a flag-draped coffin. Cena, who was recently diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, was a bomb-sniffer for...

Trucker in deadly smuggling operation to testify next monthSAN ANTONIO — A scheduled detention hearing for a truck driver charged in the deaths of 10 immigrants found inside his sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio has been canceled. Federal court records show the hearing for James Matthew Bradley Jr. that was originally set for Thursday was waived and a new hearing was set for Aug. 23, when Bradley is expected to a give video deposition. Bradley, 60, of Clearwater, Florida, faces charges of ille...

By a hair, Senate votes to debate GOP health care billWASHINGTON — With Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie, the Senate voted by a hair Tuesday to start debating Republican legislation to tear down much of the Obama health care law. The vote gives President Donald Trump and GOP leaders a crucial initial victory but launches a weeklong debate promising an uncertain final outcome. The 51-50 vote kept alive hopes of delivering on promises that countless Republican candidates have campaign...

McCain's return cheers fellow Republican senatorsWASHINGTON — Applause and whoops greeted Sen. John McCain, who is battling brain cancer, as he returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to vote for moving ahead on legislation to dismantle Obamacare The 80-year-old McCain had a visible scar above his left eye after doctors removed a blood clot earlier this month. Days after the surgery, the senator disclosed that he had a brain tumor and had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. "Stop li...

How smugglers use trucks with sometimes deadly resultsCHICAGO -- It could take months for investigators to determine what preceded the deaths of at least nine people found with dozens of ailing individuals in a tractor-trailer discovered outside a Walmart in San Antonio, Texas, in what authorities are calling an immigrant-smuggling attempt gone wrong. But previous cases of smugglers using similar trucks to move human cargo shed light on the dangerous method of human trafficking -- and how it can ...

No Russia collusion, Trump son-in-law Kushner tells CongressWASHINGTON — Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner denied Monday that he colluded with Russians in the course of President Donald Trump's White House bid and declared he has "nothing to hide." Behind closed doors, Kushner spoke to staff members of the Senate intelligence committee for nearly three hours at the Capitol, then made a brief public statement back at the White House. "Let me be very clear," he said. "I did not collude with Russia...

Burr-Hamilton? Angry lawmaker singles out 'female senators'WASHINGTON— Passions are running high on Capitol Hill — but pistols at 10 paces over health care? GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas is angry with some fellow Republicans in the Senate who are balking at parts of legislation to overturn "Obamacare." After GOP promises to repeal the law, that "is just repugnant to me," he says. Who's to blame? "Some of the people that are opposed to this, there are some female senators from the Northeast," Fare...

Promising 'A Better Deal,' Democrats try to rebrand partyBERRYVILLE, Va. — Promising "A Better Deal" for American workers, Democratic Party leaders rolled out a new agenda with a populist pitch on Monday as they sought to bounce back from their losses in November and look ahead to the 2018 midterms. They left the Beltway for small-town Berryville, Virginia, in an attempt to appeal to the working-class voters that Donald Trump appealed to last November and Democrats hope to win back. "Too many Americ...

Sanders steps into role as new face of White HouseWASHINGTON — New White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was schooled in hardscrabble politics — and down-home rhetoric — from a young age by her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Her way with a zinger — and her unshakable loyalty to an often unpredictable boss — are big reasons why she became a rising star in President Donald Trump's orbit. She'll take over for Sean Spicer, who abruptly announced Friday that he's resignin...

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By JONATHAN LEMIRE and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated PressAssociated Press

Spicer abruptly resigns as Trump press secretaryWASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned his position Friday, ending a rocky six-month tenure that made his news briefings defending President Donald Trump must-see TV. He said Trump's White House "could benefit from a clean slate." Spicer quit in protest over the hiring of a new White House communications director, New York financier Anthony Scaramucci, objecting to what Spicer considered his lack of qualificatio...

Massive blaze threatens town near YosemiteMARIPOSA, Calif. -- The town of Mariposa, with its century-old saloons and covered streets, normally bustles with summer visitors on their way to Yosemite National Park but on Thursday the Gold Rush-era hamlet was mostly empty as ash rained down and heavy smoke from a nearby blaze darkened the sky. The five-day blaze in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada threatened hundreds of homes, and historic buildings, including a wood courthouse founded ...

APNewsBreak: US restoring asset seizures with safeguardsWASHINGTON— The Trump administration will soon restore the ability of police to seize suspects' money and property with federal help, but The Associated Press has learned the policy will come with a series of new provisions aimed at preventing the types of abuse that led the Obama Justice Department to severely curtail the practice. At issue is asset forfeiture, which has been criticized because it allows law enforcement to take possessions wi...

House budget blueprint boosts military, cuts food stampsWASHINGTON— House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a budget that makes deep cuts in food stamps and other social safety net programs while boosting military spending by billions, a blueprint that pleases neither conservatives nor moderates. The GOP plan, authored by Budget Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., is critical to GOP hopes to deliver on one of President Donald Trump's top priorities — a Republican-only effort to overhaul the tax code. Uncl...

Health plan hinges on the young, but they're a tough sellWASHINGTON — Julian Senn-Raemont isn't convinced he needs to buy health insurance when he loses coverage under his dad's plan in a couple of years — no matter what happens in the policy debate in Washington, or how cheap the plans are. The 24-year-old musician hasn't known a world without a health care safety net. But he hates being forced by law to get coverage, and doesn't think he needs it. "I'm playing the odds," said Senn-Raemont, who liv...

Science Says: Are hot dogs healthier without added nitrites?NEW YORK — Backyard cooks looking to grill this summer have another option: hot dogs without "added nitrites." Are they any healthier? Oscar Mayer is touting its new hot dog recipe that uses nitrite derived from celery juice instead of artificial sodium nitrite, which is used to preserve the pinkish colors of processed meats and prevents botulism. Kraft Heinz, which owns Oscar Mayer, says sodium nitrite is among the artificial ingredients it h...

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this weekA roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts: ___ NOT REAL: Whataburger files for bankruptcy; all locations to close by August 1. THE FACTS: The Texas-based fast food chain has taken to social media to quash a series of false stories claiming it was going o...

Trump suggests just repeal Obamacare, then try to replace itWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump barged into Senate Republicans' delicate health care negotiations Friday, declaring that if lawmakers can't reach a deal they should simply repeal "Obamacare" right away and then replace it later on. Trump's tweet revives an approach that GOP leaders and the president himself considered but dismissed months ago as impractical and politically unwise. And it's likely to further complicate Majority Leader Mitch...

At least 2 people shot inside NYC hospital; gunman deadNEW YORK — A man pulled a rifle from under his white lab coat and opened fire inside a Bronx hospital Friday, killing at least one person and wounding others before apparently taking his own life, police said. The gunfire broke out at 2:50 p.m. inside the Bronx Lebanon Hospital, bringing police cars and firetrucks rushing to the scene and sending officers onto the roof with their guns drawn as people inside the building were told to hide. Offi...

Consumer issues stemming from the GOP health care initiativeWASHINGTON — Republicans in full control of government are on the brink of history-making changes to the nation's health care system. The impact for consumers would go well beyond "Obamacare." Former President Barack Obama's signature law is usually associated with subsidized insurance markets like HealthCare.gov. But the Affordable Care Act also expanded Medicaid. Not only would the GOP legislation scale back coverage through the insurance ma...